Jacob Zimmerman

The Paladin’s 2013-2014 sports editor, opinions editor, and editor-in-chief each share their parting thoughts concerning the university paper, the role and future of journalism, and reaching the end of their Furman careers.

At the beginning of March, the South Carolina House of Representatives voted to affirm cuts to the budgets of two state universities for assigning books with LGBT themes. This legislative decision offers an opportunity for us to reflect on the ways we approach LGBT and the language we use and the reasons we offer in such discussions.

After graduation every year, a small number of Furman’s faculty members leave the university. Some of these professors hang their caps and gowns in the back of their closets for the last time.

At the end of the holiday break, the student body received an email from Tom Saccenti, Furman’s police chief, updating students on changes in the regulations for mopeds on campus, which require that moped owners attend a two-hour seminar, and outlining specific penalties for moped-related infractions.

On Feb. 2, 1965, Joseph Vaughn became the first African-American undergraduate student to enroll at Furman, along with three African-American graduate students admitted to the university’s graduate education program. This realized the policy approved by Furman’s Board of Trustees the year before and reaffirmed immediately prior to Vaughn’s enrollment — racial integration.

Every day, thousands of people get out of bed, do a full day’s work, all without making any money. This internship culture — in which people are compelled and even required to work in the hope of intangible rewards or advances in an uncertain economy — is detrimental to both individuals and to our society at large.

At its best, virtual technology connects people and simplifies basic tasks. At its worst, virtual technology can separate, regulate, disconnect, and complicate what should be simple tasks. Now, during the three-year review of Furman’s use of the program, is the time to move Furman’s utilization of OrgSync from the latter end of the spectrum to the former.

What should be the role of athletics on a university campus? This question is important in the context of both recent developments on Furman’s campus and in higher education generally. This past weekend, Furman played LSU’s football team, a nationally-ranked program with two BCS championships in the past 10 years. This question about the role of athletics is one of the many questions that Furman students, administrators, staff, faculty, and alumni must confront in achieving a vision for Furman in uncertain and volatile times.

Last week, sports columnist Marcus Rodrigue published an article in the Louisiana State University student newspaper, the Daily Reveille, explaining to LSU readers what a paladin is and why the Furman Paladins represent a threat to LSU’s championship-pedigree football program.

The topic of mental health is especially relevant at this time of year, given the deployment of psychiatric disorders as a plot device in many Halloween horror stories. The same narrative appears in the way that we often attempt to understand social ills like crime and poverty according to our own fear and ignorance regarding mental health.